RealD Raises $200M in IPO

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RealD jumped in their market debut Friday, even after the 3-D movie technology company priced its initial public offering above expectations.

The Beverly Hills company, benefiting from the buzz over 3-D-enhanced movies such as “Avatar” and “Toy Story 3,” priced shares at $16, above the expected range of $13 to $15. The IPO raised $200 million from its own stock sale, 24 percent more than initially sought, and insiders also benefitted by selling shares of their own.

RealD offered 6 million shares and selling stockholders offered 6.5 million shares. In addition, the selling stockholders granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.87 million shares of stock at the IPO price.

At least one analyst urged caution about the company’s shares. Richard Greenfield at BTIG LLC, initiated coverage with a “sell” rating and a 12-month target price at the company’s $16 IPO price.

“While we sense quite a bit of investor interest around the RealD IPO, we worry that investors do not appreciate the longer-term risks to RealD’s business model,” Greenfield said in his initiation report. “We expect RealD’s gross license fees per screen per year to decrease consistently going forward, as there will not be enough ‘good’ 3D movies to maintain recent attendance a per screen levels.”

Shares ended the day up nearly 22 percent to $19.51 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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